Week 3 AFC West Roundup
By Justin Smith
San Diego Chargers
Last place in AFC West
Record: 1-2
Last Game: Lost on the road to Indianapolis Colts (1-2) 26-22
Next Game: home to New Orleans Saints (0-3), Sun Oct 2, 4:25 EST
Another week, another starter lost for the Chargers. This time it was LB Manti Te’o, and he’s gone for the year.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before — Branden Oliver, Keenan Allen, Danny Woodhead. It’d almost be enough to feel sorry for the team, if it weren’t the Chargers.
Instead, AFC West rivals can revel in the fact that the Chargers, who have outplayed expectations despite a 1-2 record and slew of injuries, likely don’t have the long-haul depth to challenge them for a playoff spot.
Philip Rivers has been great this season, and is pretty much the sole reason the Chargers are in any given game. Melvin Gordon has also been great, but is only really useful when the team is ahead.
They blew leads to the Chiefs and Colts and could honestly be 3-0, as crazy as that sounds. But they blew those games late, as depth and end of roster plays a factor. It was those times when injuries, fatigue, and a lack of viable rotation players really hurt the team.
Alex Smith torched them in the fourth quarter in week one and broke them in overtime. Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton torched them in the fourth quarter with a big play. There’s a theme here.
Playoff contenders? Tough to say no after three weeks, but with that losing record and rash of significant injuries to deal with, along with a tough schedule that includes it’s share of 1:00pm starts, it’s likely the Chargers will waste Rivers yet again and simply play spoiler most of the season.
As they’ve shown they’ll keep it entertaining and interesting — and likely find a way to lose it late.